A Complete Collection of The Zamorano 80 [Daniel G. Volkmann Jr. Collection]; A Selection of Distinguished California Books Made by Members of the Zamorano Club [Catalogue for Sloan Auction February 5, 2003] [with prospectus and prices realized]

Austin, Tx: Dorothy Sloan Rare Books, 2003. First Edition. Paperback. Near Fine. [11.5x8.5in] xv, 319 pp., 80 items with many illustrations and images in text and 10 plates of 27 color images, References Cited, California Colonial Bibliography by W. Michael Mathes, index; Sea blue paper wraps with gilt device on front and lettering on spine, all edges trimmed, glued binding; Negligible shelf wear with minimal rubbing to bottom edge. This impressive catalogue is not just another auction catalogue. The detailed bibliographical descriptions, citations and notes were done by Dorothy Sloan Rare Books. The historical essays for each entry were done by Gary F. Kurutz and Dr. W. Michael Mathes. Both bring extensive knowledge of the historical context of each of the 80 Zamorano books. Kurutz was the Director of Special Collections for the California State Library, Sutro Librarian, bibliographer of Western Americana at the Huntington Library and author of the California Gold Rush: A Descriptive Bibliography and the Klondike and Alaska Gold Rushes. Mathes was a history professor at the University of San Francisco, curator of Mexicana and the Sutro Library and Library Director of El Colegio de Jalisco.

This is a very good reference book for the Zamorano 80 books. The Zamorano Eighty is a list of books intended to represent the most significant early volumes published on the history of California. It was compiled in 1945 by members of the Zamorano Club, a Los Angeles-based group of bibliophiles. Collecting first editions of every volume on the list has become the goal of a number of book collectors, though to date only four people have completed the task.

The Zamorano Club was founded in 1928 and named for Agustín Vicente Zamorano, the first printer in California. A series of committees of Club members, including former American Smelting and Refining Company executive Henry Raup Wagner and bibliographer Robert Cowan, assembled a list of a hundred books, eventually whittled down to eighty. During this process, Cowan died, and his Bibliography of the History of California and the Pacific West was added to the list as a tribute.

The list contains significant works by a number of well-known authors like Mark Twain, John Muir, Bret Harte, and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as obscure texts concerning geographical exploration and legal matters. Some of the works exist in very few, highly sought after copies, while others were quite common and not particularly valuable, until interest in the list caused their prices to rise. Book dealers often refer to items for sale using their "Zamorano number" or have special sections dedicated to items on the list. [excerpt from Wiki].